Load-governor for electric currents



(No Model.)

F. E. PRITGHARD. LOAD GOVERNOR FOR ELECTRIC GURRENTS. No. 514,030. Patented Feb. 6, 1.894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

FRANK. E. PRITCI-IARD, OF OSXVEGO, NE\V YORK.

LOAD-GOVERNOR FOR E LECTRIC CURRENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,030, dated February 6, 1894.

W Application filed November 19, 1891. Serial No. 412,370. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK. E. PRITCHARD, of Oswego, in the county of Oswego, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Load-Governors for Electric Currents, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in load or transmission of power regulators for electric currents, particularly applicable for use in electric systems for railways, &c., and has for its object the production of a simple and eifective device which is ecomically manufactured and durable and positive in operation.

To this end the invention consists, essentially, in a resistance body or coil connected to the positive or negative conductor of the electric system, a movable contact piece or arm connected to the other of said conductors, and a governor for forcing said movable piece into contact with the resistance body and thus subjecting the electric current to a greater or less amount of resistance as its load is decreased or increased.

The invention also consists in a number of resistance bodies or coils connected to the electric current conductor, a series of the movable contact pieces or arms connected to the other conductor so that said contact pieces make consecutive contact with the resistance bodies, in a loose connection between the governor and the respective movable pieces, and in the detail construction and arrangement of the parts, all as hereinafter more particularly described and pointed out in the claims.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view representing my improved governor as operatively connected to centrifugally operating governor Weights mounted on a revolving shaft. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the ends of the resistance bodies, the movable pieces or arms for making contact with said resistance bodies, the centrifugally operating governor operating shaft, and the connections between said shaft and movable contact pieces. Fig. 3 is an end View of the parts as shown at Fig. 2, and Fig. 4- is an enlarged view, partly in section, of the end of one of the movable contact pieces and the end of the movable arm for operating said contact piece, the movable connection between said arm and contact piece being clearly illustrated.

A represents the positive, as the overhead, and B- the negative, as the ground, conductor.

O- is a rheostat consisting of an outer shell -O and a number of resistance bodies or coils ccc c and c*-.

DDD D and D* are contact terminals connected by wires Cld'CZ d and (Z to the respective resistance bodies -ccc -c and -c so that said terminals form, in fact, the ends of said resistance bodies.

E represents any suitable support arranged in proximity to a governor operating shaft e of any suitable construction driven in any desirable manner by the mechanism for effecting the generation of the electric current for operating the electric road or other electrical apparatus to which it is desired to connect my invention, in order that the speed of said mechanism may automatically regulate the transmission of' power by the current, or in other words, the load borne thereby.

The mechanism for generating the electric current may be connected to the shaft e by any suitable'power transmitting means as the ordinary bevel gears well known to those skilled in the art, and consequently it is unnecessary to further illustrate or describe the same. The necessity of such regulation is particularly apparent when, for some reason, the amount of electric energy necessary to operate the road, is suddenly reduced without a corresponding reduction of the power for effecting the generation of such electric energy. By the use of my apparatus, when the said mechanism for effecting the generation of the electricity commences to run with increased speed because of a reduction in the required amount of electric energy occasioned by lessening the number of running cars, and by other similar causes', my governor automatically reduces the resistance of the rheostat and thus counteracts the effect of the increased speed of the electric current produced, and compels the energy of the electric current to remain substantially constant.

The governor F- upon the shaft e of the electric current producing apparatus, may be of any desirable form, size and construction, and is here shown as a pair of centrifugally operating weights f-f supported on links f' hinged at f* to the end of the shaft e. Hinged to the link f at f'- are links hinged to a vertically moving collar f encircling the shaft -e.

GGG -G and G represent a series of movable contact pieces carrying terminals or posts -gg'g g and g for-making contact with the contact terminals'or posts D-D',DD -D For the sake of convenience, these movable pieces consist of levers pivoted at gto a support g mounted on the table -E-- and arranged with their free extremities between standards -H- also mounted on the table Journaled in the standards --H- is a rock shaft H'- having mounted thereon projecting arms or actuators hhh -h and h-- arranged directly above the respective contact pieces or arms GG G G and -G Depending from the ends of the arms hare the loose connections II-I I and I formed at their lower extremities with a shoulder 2' for detachably engaging the under sides of the contact pieces G-G'-G2 G and G and suitably secured at their upper extremities to said arms h-h h h and h as by an eye-bolt i-.

-J is a rock arm on the shaft .--H'-- connected by a link jto the vertically movable collar It will thus be noted that as the centrifugally operating balls -fswing upward when the speed of the shaft e is increased, the collar -f is elevated and by means of the link -j' and the rock arms J the shaft H'- is rocked and the arms -I depressed so as to permit the terminals of the movable contact pieces to make contact with the corresponding terminals of the resistance bodies or coils and permit the passage of the current through the rheostat.

Upon reference to the drawings it will be noted that the contact terminals g--g'-gamount of electric energy. Consequently, when the elevation of the collar f is sufficient to depress the contact terminal g into contact with the corresponding terminal D the connection I- passes downward by the further elevation of said collar f? without forcing said contact terminal g"- with any undue degree of pressure against its corresponding contact terminal, and at the same time the next adjacent contact piece G is sufficiently depressed so that the contact terminal -g conveys the electric current to the resistance body or coil --c*.

For the purpose of preventing the formation of an are between the terminals DD' -D D and D and gg'g g and g when said terminals are separated by the depression of the collar f, I provide any suitable construction for producing an air blast, the one illustrated being a pipe -K arranged in close proximity to said contact posts and provided with small perforations or exit openings kin direct alignment with said contact terminals through which the air is forcibly driven when passed through said pipe -K by any suitable forcing apparatus, not necessary to herein illustrate or describe. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that a magnet maybe used in the ordinary way for preventing or breaking the are instead of the air blast, but it is unnecessary to illustrate or describe said magnet.

The operation of my invention will be readily perceived from the foregoing description and upon reference to the drawings, and it will be particularly noted that the detail construction and arrangement of the parts may be somewhat changed without departing from the spirit of my invention. HenceI do not limit myself to the precise form and arrangement thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a series of resistance bodies connected to one of said conductors, and provided with terminals, a series of independently movable contact pieces connected to the other of said conductors and provided with contact terminals adapted to make contact with the former terminals, and a governor connected, substantially as described, for forcing the terminals on said movable pieces to successively contact with the terminals connected to said resistance bodies,

whereby the electric current is gradually subjected to a greater or less amount of resistance, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a series of resistance bodies connected to one of said conductors and provided with contact terminals, a series of independently movable contact pieces con- 7 nected to the other of said conductors, and provided with terminals adapted to make contact with the former terminals and arranged so as to be unequally approximated to said former terminals for effecting consecutive contact of said terminals, and a governor connected, substantially as described, for forcing the terminals on said movable contact pieces to successive contact with the former terminals connected to the resistance bodies, whereby the electric current is gradually subjected to a greater or less amount of resistance, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a series of resistance bodies connected to one of said conductors and provided with contact terminals, a series of independently movable contact pieces connected to the other of said conductors and provided with terminals adapted to make contact with the former terminals and arranged so as to be unequally approximated to said former terminals for effecting consecutive contact of said terminals, a governor for forcing the terminals on said movable contact pieces to successively contact with the former terminals connected to the resistance body, and connections connected, substantially as described, to the governor and detachably connected to said movable centact pieces for permitting consecutive contact thereof with the terminals connected to the resistance bodies, substantially as and for the purpose described.

t. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a resistance body connected to one of said conductors, a movable contact piece connected to the-other of said conductors and adapted to make contact with said resistance body, an actuator for forcing said contact piece into contact with the resistance body, a connection connected to said actuator and connected, substantially as described, to the movable piece, whereby the connection has an additional movement after the movable piece is in operative position and a governor connected, substantially as described, to operate said actuator, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of two or more resistance bodies connected to one of said conductors, two or more movable contact pieces connected to the other of said conductors and adapted to successively make contact with the resistance bodies, an actuator for successively bringing said pieces into contact with the resistance bodies, connections connected to said actuator and connected, substantially as described, to said movable pieces, whereby one or more of the connections has an additional movement after the contact piece connected thereto is in operative position, and a governor connected, substantially as described, to said actuator for forcing said movable pieces into operative contact, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a series of resistance bodies connected to one of said conductors, a series of movable contact pieces connected to the other of said conductors, and provided with contact terminals having their extremities arranged one below the other and adapt ed to make contact with the resistance bodies, an actuator having arms for the respective movable pieces, connections connected to said arms and connected, substantially as described, to the respective contact pieces, whereby one or more of the connections has an additional movement after the contact piece connected thereto is in operative position, and a governor for bringing the actuator into operation, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. The combination with a positive and negative conductor; of a series of resistance coils connected to one of said conductors, contactterminals connected to the respective coils, a series of hinged levers, or movable contact pieces provided with contact terminals se cured to the levers and unequally separated from the former terminals for eifecting consecutive contact therewith, a rock shaft having arms for the respective levers, or contact pieces depending connections secured to the respective arms and formed with shoulders adapted to detachably engage the said hinged levers or contact pieces, a rocking arm on said rock shaft, and a governor connected, substantially as described, to said rocking shaft for operating the same, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 25th day of September, 1891.

FRANK. E, PRITCHARD.

itnesses:

CLARK H. NORTON, L. M. BAXTEB. 

